As most of you know, Junior Road Nationals in Madison, Wisconsin came to a close last week and was locked away in the books. I was not surprised how competitive this years nationals were. The team had a good run coming away with three national titles, with Sean McElroy sweeping the 13-14 race, two podiums with Gage Hecht, and top tens from the rest of us. However, the big surprise of this week was that I realized how strong Norm McElroy (Sean's dad) and Larry Nolan are not only physically and mentally. Norm and Larry drove the 2500 miles to and from Madison, Wisconsin. We started in the mornings and drove as long as we could before it got dark to get a ride in. On the way back, we all agreed to get home ASAP. It took us 2 days to get back compared to the 4 days it took us to get there. On the last day coming back, Norm pushed through the sleepiness and drove through the night while the rest of us were sleeping in the van. Because of his strengths to drive for that long, Larry nicknamed him Iron Man Norm. As for Larry, let's just say he is one strong man. Throughout the whole week, he was constantly doing something for the team. He woke up early for the races everyday, made sure we were all doing well and got us what we needed before and after our races, and stayed up each night at late hours updating team sponsors and supporters via email. With all this business, the man hardly got any sleep/rest and still managed to keep our team spirits high. He is one strong man. So Norm and Larry, thank you for all the hard work and strength for getting me to and from the race. Also, thank you to my parents, all the supporters, and team parents who made this trip exciting and possible for me.
Cheers,
Nick Castellano
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